On Riana during SAS Australia: “She’s a brilliant human. No b******t, no ego, she just knuckled down and suffered well on the show” - Dr Dan Pronk  In this episode, Ben and Tim speak to television personality, SAS Australia candidate and all round superstar Riana Crehan- footnote that she is also a fellow West Coast Eagle supporter!  Brought up on a chicken farm Riana spent most of her childhood outdoors and dancing. In 2007 Riana got a work experience role with the V8 Supercars working on...

As a special Anzac Day release, please enjoy our chat with MAJGEN (ret’d) Jake Ellwood.  Jake is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, a role which puts him at the forefront of reconstruction and resilience within the state, particularly in the face of relentless natural disasters.  And he’s definitely the man for the job, having spent a long, distinguished and varied first career within the Army, rising to the rank of Major General.  In this...

This week’s guest is Dr Luana Main, a Senior Lecturer in Applied Sport Science at Deakin University.  An athlete herself, Luana’s research focuses on optimizing human performance and, in particular, finding the sweet spot between optimal load and overtraining.  She has applied this research in areas including elite sport and the military and talks with Ben and Tim about how we can all apply some of these same concepts in our day-to-day lives.   04:45       Luana’s background – and the...

Ben and Tim try to remember what an 'RV' actually is.... reconciliation and reflection, before we talk about our respective travel. From Morocco, Barcelona, Chicago, Brisbane, Hobart .... and more! Then reflections on Jaz Diab, Dr Rob Barbour, Ian Prior and the Festival of Veterans Art.   Then as usual talking rubbish about the perfect Easter Egg, Popcorn from Chicago..... and encouraging outright criticism!   Music: With thanks to The Externals as well as Ben...

In this episode, Ben and Tim speak to Rachel Vickery.  Rachel spent her formative years as a national level gymnast and Commonwealth Games representative for her native New Zealand before training as a respiratory physiotherapist.  Drawing from this unique background, Rachel now works to help people increase their performance in domains ranging from NBA basketball to the boardroom.  Rachel shares her thoughts on how to deal with stress, both in your daily life and at ‘go time’ and provides a...

Do you believe that being creativity builds resilience? Well this week we aim to convince you so get ready. In support of the the upcoming www.fova.org.au we outline how: when you engage in creative activities, you increase your brain’s capacity for creative thinking, pattern recognition, and developing visual-spatial skills. These skills enhance your problem-solving abilities in real-life situations From Ruth Richards (Harvard), “Engaging in creative behaviours, makes us more dynamic,...

Ian Prior is MORE than just a professional rugby player with over a decade of ‘high speed collisions in confined spaces’. He’s incredibly well read and researched. He meditates and practices journaling. He uses ice baths and loves the beach. He’s about performance and optimisation, but uses that to improve his being a dedicated father and husband. This is also a story about tenacity. In the early stages of his career Ian was on the fringes of representative and  first class rugby. But his...

Get a medical degree and then do SAS selection – as a Doctor!? Sounds mad. Well listen in. Born in Kenya, Dr Rob Barbour spent his formative years in Australia gaining a medical degree and serving in the Australian special forces including on peacekeeping missions.Having never lost his love for his birthplace, Rob migrated to Tanzania to start a socially responsible and community conservation orientated safari operation and a private community conservation area.Rob subsequently joined Epic...

In this episode, we continue our chat with Jaz Diab, the multi-talented former Commanding Officer of the Australian Special Operations Engineer Regiment.  Jaz reflects on her experiences as one of the first females in combat roles within Special Operations, before looking at her transition out of the military and subsequent focus on nuclear science.  Jaz then talks us through some of the difficulties in progressing the conversation related to nuclear energy in Australia, as well as her role...

In this special double episode, we talk with Jaz Diab – a mum, a self-described ‘nerd’ and crochet aficionado, who also happens to be a nuclear scientist and the former Commanding Officer of the Australian Special Operations Engineer Regiment.  Jaz talks us through her childhood, getting bitten by the science bug and her eventual entry into the military, as well as her experiences as a (very humble) trailblazer for females in combat roles.  And along the way, reflects on some of the key...

In this RV Ben and Tim discuss last year’s events, why they didn’t podcast last year, and where and what they have been up to.   01:00       Where have we been and why have we been off air? 01:50       Thanks to you and Vale Tim ‘Robbo’ Robertson- an inspiration to us 06:30       Tim runs The Wine Marathon 09:30       Ben talks running 14:00       Talking about 2023 travel destinations 15:00       Languages…. And Emily drops in to give an opinion 26:30       Tim talks about losing his Dad in...

The Externals are 'Back on the Cans' .... as is the Unforgiving60 podcast. This is Season 5. New guests. New material. Same buffoon hosts. #unforgiving60 #podcast  

Ben and Tim are back for Season 5 of the Unforgiving60 podcast.....

In this RV Ben and Tim discuss the years events, trends and ‘best ofs’ now that the world has opened back up and life has returned to having velocity. From books, global change, travel, music ….. and what challenges have the boys set themselves for 2023.   01:30       What is an RV? 03:15       Let’s start with some stats 05:30       What is the 5th rated country by download? You’ll be surprised! 07:00       Some of the guest episodes…. Reflecting 14:15       How guests fight back…. Maccas...

Ben and Tim are interviewed by Emily and Callum from Golds Gym. *********** The SAS guys with MBA's and Authors of the best-selling book 'The Resilience Shield' join us on the Gold's Gym podcast! Tim Curtis and Ben Pronk are leaders in their field and chat to us about all things resilience. You can also take their test to find out how resilient you are. Assess, understand and improve your resilience here: https://resilienceshield.com/assess-your-resilience/ Resilience is a lifelong individual...

Senator David Van is a Liberal Senator for Victoria, who was elected to the Senate in 2019.   As part of this, and arguably as the main reason many Australians might recognise him, David has recently been very prominent in his support for the people of Ukraine.  In this discussion, we speak with David about what this cause means to him and what the situation there might mean for all of us in Australia.  We also explore David’s fascinating background, which includes time as a horticulturalist,...

TRIGGER WARNING. This episode discusses the 2002 Bali Bombing and involves content that some might find disturbing. ‘Macca’ is a knock about Aussie guy who 20 years ago at 19 years old played some pretty sub amateur footy at Kingsley Football Club in Perth. In October 2002, they won the team's first premiership and 20 people flew to Bali for an end-of-season trip to celebrate their victory. But only 13 of the teammates made it home. The remaining seven were killed in the Bali bombings, a...

Through their work with The Resilience Shield, Ben and Tim have become fascinated with the topic – and in particular, with evidence-based research related to it.  A few months back, they saw an article talking about an Australian academic conducting a range of ground-breaking research into this exact topic and reached out to see if she would be interested in sharing her perspectives with the Unforgiving60.  Associate Professor Justine Gatt is Lead Scientist of the Gatt Wellbeing &...

Our chat today is with world champion para-surfer Sam Bloom, and her husband Cam. Born on the Northern  Beaches of Sydney, Sam had everything she had always dreamed of. She’d travelled extensively, fulfilled her childhood dream of becoming a nurse and was a happily married mother of three young boys. But without warning, the dream turned into a nightmare when on a 2013 family holiday in Thailand, Sam fell through a rotten balcony railing and crashed six metres onto the concrete below. Lucky...

We first spoke to David way back in Season 3, when he was kind enough to dial in from Antarctica and talk about his experiences as an Australian Antarctic Division Station Leader.  At the time of that episode, David’s team’s trip had already been extended due to COVID, however at that point, he didn’t realise just how long he would be on the ice for, nor what sorts of challenges his trip would present him with.  Turns out, the total deployment time was 537 Days, which ended up being the name...

Beau Miles is an award winning filmmaker,  PhD, a poly-jobist, speaker, writer and oddball. His YouTube Channel houses his movies which have been watched millions of times. One short film, ‘Running a marathon a mile at a time’ has been viewed over 4 millions times.  It’s a bit better that our YouTube channel! We talk life and living. The importance of art and where Beau gets his mad ideas!  Tune in. Beau is certainly filling his unforgiving minutes with 60 seconds worth of distance...

When many of us think about marijuana, our immediate thoughts are of illicit use. But across the world, this attitude is changing as researchers uncover the benefits of medicinal marijuana across a range of conditions.  Progression within Australia has been relatively slow, however our guest this week aims to speed things up in this groundbreaking area.    Dr Michael Mumford started his career as an Australian Army engineer and saw operational service in Afghanistan with the Special...

Let’s talk how to focus! Nir Eyal’s is an incredible thinker- describing himself as a ‘behavioural design expert’- which is the point of intersection between psychology, technology, and business. Then add some behavioural economics, and a twist of neuroscience. Our conversation in this episode ranges from how to be ‘indistractable’- the title of Nir’s book (and a word he invented), but also what tools and techniques can bring us to a pont of focus. And what about neurochemistry- is it real,...

Mark Wales is one of our favourite guests – so much so that Ben can’t remember how many times he’s been on the show (turns out this is only the second).  But each time has been a great conversation, and this is certainly no exception.  Mark, fresh off his momentous half-million dollar Survivor: Blood and Water victory, joins Ben and Tim to talk all things reality TV, tough luxury, fathering, books, music, Anzac Day….and conspiracy theories.  A must-listen episode!     3:25         Welcoming...